Eyota railway village was platted in November,
1864, and incorporated on March 9, 1875. The township was
organized in 1858, initially named Springfield, but changed in 1859 to
Eyota, which is a Dakota or Sioux word, spelled iyotan by Riggs in the
Dakota Dictionary. It means "greatest, most." The village
actually got its start in the fall of 1854, when Benjamin Bear made a
claim near the center of what would be the town, and in May of the
following year he moved his family there. That same year, H. G.
Freeman, William Potter, Charles Keyes, Clark Brown and several others
settled in the vicinity of the Bear home.

Source:

MINNESOTA GEOGRAPHIC NAMES
Their Origin and Historic Significance
History of Winona and Olmsted Counties, 1883